Bedless
by naturally morbid
Summary: AU. Hinata / Kakashi – She is the owner of a bookstore and cafe with compelling secrets and he is a famous writer, now undercover, who has lost his muse but finds one in Hinata, hoping to solve her mysteries. But somewhere, is a man who could destroy any possibility of her happiness.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Never have tried pairing Hinata and Kakashi, so this is a first attempt. It's also going to be darker, like _Safe Haven_ type of darkness. She will be using a fake name, Himawari Hozuki, to keep running from her past as being Hinata Uzumaki. Not really Naruto bashing and he won't be all bad, but he's got his demons too. I know that Jiraiya is originally the author of the _Icha Icha_ books, but I've taken some liberties to make this plotline work and switched things around for that purpose.

Oh yeah, and alternative universe.

 **Summary** : AU. Hinata / Kakashi – She is the owner of a bookstore and cafe with compelling secrets and he is a famous writer, now undercover, who has lost his muse but finds one in Hinata, hoping to solve her mysteries. But somewhere, is a man who could destroy any possibility of her happiness.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or its characters. I do not own the title of the fic; that belongs to Pierce the Veil.

 **Bedless**

 _'Cause you don't even know you're an angel  
Foolish am I for the times I come and go  
These stars defy love, so I close my eyes  
And sleep inside your worn-in bed outline_

-Pierce the Veil

 **Chapter 1**

Hinata opened her eyes and waited. This was her routine every morning now; had been for the past year. It still took some getting used to, waking up alone.

 _Has it really been over a year?_ She thought, as she sleepily rolled over, trying to untangle herself from her heavy duvet. It was wonderful not having to share it with anyone. Hinata could take up the whole bed if she pleased.

Following her morning routine before she opened the store and café for the day, Hinata slipped into her worn house shoes and stumbled her way to the kitchen. There had been a time when someone else would have been awake in her house and would have already had the coffee maker going.

 _But not now,_ she mused, getting everything ready. Making a cup of coffee for herself was simple compared to orders she took downstairs in her shop. It sometimes felt as if she had learned another language. _I really should get myself a pet,_ she thought, noting how quiet her flat seemed.

To ease the loneliness, she turned on music – a collection of arias from different operas and set about finishing her routine with coffee in hand.

There had been a time when Hinata had a love like a storybook romance. A prince that had swooped in and saved her from her family. And now? That prince had turned out to be a wicked beast in disguise.

Hinata had been forced to leave.

 _Don't go down that road, don't let the negative thoughts in._ If she started thinking about the reasons again, the store would never open. She would be in the shower, crying and not helpful to anyone.

As she headed back to her bedroom, she passed a photo of an ultrasound. Putting her index and middle finger to her lips, Hinata pressed them against the glass of the photo and continued on.

 _That was nearly two years ago,_ Hinata thought. It took everything in her not to cry. That had been some of why she had to leave.

" _I love you and only you,"_ his voice rang in her ears as she dressed. If that had been the case, then why hadn't it worked? Why hadn't Naruto been able to truly love her?

She thought she had been enough, that starting a family with her would be enough.

But it wasn't.

When she had fallen down the steps and lost the baby, things were put in perspective.

"But I have a good perspective now," Hinata said as she brushed out her hair. She repeated it over and over with each stroke.

Her hair was short now, like it had been when she was a teenager. It framed her face, long tendrils hanging down with blunt-cut fringe, but it was pixie short in the back, up off of her neck. The same hairstyle she had worn when she was invisible to Naruto.

Hinata locked up her flat and headed downstairs to open the shop. It was her one pride and joy now. It would be another hour before the doors actually opened, but there was much to do. She had to restock the shelves, prep the coffee machines, count the register out and any other menial tasks Hinata could find to keep her mind busy.

Very rarely did Hinata have help. She just couldn't trust another worker not to run to Naruto, not to betray her.

Most of her old friends had looked down at her for leaving. They didn't know what kind of man he was deep down. The man that he hid from everyone, except her.

Hinata wasn't sure why she couldn't let these thoughts go this morning; why it kept coming up. Was it because it had been a year?

 _Happy anniversary to me,_ she thought bitterly, as she arranged the new young adult books.

There was a knock on the front door.

Wiping her hands on her pants, Hinata's feet whispered across the floor. Most customers knew not to come this early.

She peeped around the design on the glass.

A man was standing there, looking up at her faded sign, hands stuffed deep down in his pockets. He was so nonchalant that Hinata wondered if she had heard the knock in the first place.

Silver hair stuck up in almost a wayward spray on the side of his head. He was dressed head to toe in black, even a black mask pulled up over the lower half of his face to the bridge of his nose. He looked like some sort of assassin.

 _Naruto might be over the top, but this?_

Against her better judgement, Hinata found herself opening the door just a crack.

"Um, yes?" she asked.

"Hm?" He looked directly at her with the most piercing, heavy-lidded grey eyes.

"Can I help you?" Her voice was small but firm.

"I came to see if you had any jobs available."

"Not right now." She started to close to the door on him.

"Well, I was actually recommended here, by the florist down the block. She said that sometimes you will hire if she approves them first?"

Hinata could have slapped her forehead. Ino was up to her usual tricks again. Apparently, she had taken a liking to this man. Ino and Hinata were some kind of friends, although Hinata wasn't sure what kind.

However, Ino's recommendations in workers had actually not been bad. Just very short-lived.

With his mask up, Hinata couldn't tell much about his face. However, he didn't appear nearly as elderly as his hair suggested. She allowed her eyes a moment to rake over his form, taking in toned muscles and slender hips. If she looked any closer, Hinata could just see a faint definition in his abs.

Well, she supposed she couldn't blame Ino. For an older man, he was very good looking, at least the parts she could see. What was he hiding under that mask?

"Do you have any experience with books?" Hinata asked. "Or coffee."

"Both. I have a lot of experience with both. I'm an aspiring writer and I make coffee several times a day."

There was a lightness and good humor to his voice that Hinata found pleasing to her ear. If he was going to hurt her, wouldn't he have done it by now?

It was difficult to tell if he was smiling beneath the mask, but his eyes crinkled at the edges in a gesture of good humor.

"I suppose I could interview you," Hinata said, opening the door a little wider.

"Thank you," he said, stepping forward.

"W-what is your n-name?"

She had been fine until he had stepped closer. It was one thing to invite him, it was quite another for him to actually take her up on it.

"Hatake Kakashi," he told her. She noted that he had stopped when she had stuttered.

"Oh." She pulled the door open a little wider, so that at least he wouldn't brush too close to her. Being touched, by anyone, still bothered her. Naruto had been...

It took a second or two for Hinata to realize the man had been speaking to her.

"Pardon?" she asked, blinking away the memories.

"Nice shop. I've always seen the outside but I've never been inside," he said. His voice was smooth, laid back.

"Mm." She directed him over to a couple of the tables she had set up in the café part of the store. "Just have a seat and I'll be right back."

Hinata hurried into the office, making sure the door was locked when she entered, during her visit, and then when she returned just in case he wasn't really there for a job as he had originally said. Upon returning, Hinata experienced a little shock to find him still sitting there.

Had she been expecting him to leave after all? Or maybe to be a figment of her imagination?

Sadly, it would not have been the first time. Hinata had imagined sounds and shadowy figures in the store or her flat when she was alone. It wasn't her location that was haunted, but her mind.

In the last year, these imaginations had dropped off somewhat. She was miles away, living under an assumed name, and Naruto had not found her yet.

Turning her mind now to work, she began to interview Kakashi.

XX

Kakashi knew his last novel had been a colossal flop when he had found it in a discount store, further discounted. Part way through the novel, his mentor and pen name had died suddenly so his heart just wasn't in the plot line. Every word had felt like rote. His agent, Umino Iruka, had been enthused and did his best. Ultimately, it came down to the writer.

"At least copies are still selling," Iruka enthused during one of their business lunches. "And you're still getting royalties from those movie deals."

Kakashi had "hmm"ed and picked at his salad, regretting not getting a burger instead. It wasn't as much about the money for him; Kakashi didn't require much other than a flat, chow for his eight dogs, and groceries. He lived very simply, because the writing was much more a craft.

At his book tours, Iruka had let Jiraiya act as a stand-in for him. And now Jiraiya was dead. Kakashi's heart ached with the memory, the terrible phone call in the middle of the night, going through his estate because there was no one else left.

Desperate for plotlines, Kakashi went strolling around the town late at night to think. Iruka had told him maybe a change of pace for his next novel would get him out of his slump. All his previous books had centered around a sordid love affair with gratuitous amounts of smut. He was hungry for something different.

The bookstore had caught his eye when he strolled by at near closing one night. The woman working the counter particularly drew his eye; there was something at once beautiful and haunted about her as she served coffee to waiting customers. Her sad smiles told him there was something boiling just below that soft surface, something compelling.

Kakashi had seen that look before, on women who had been seriously aggrieved by someone they loved. Something terrible had happened to this woman in the past and it still lurked below the surface. Here was his story.

That night he had rushed home to his apartment on the other side of the town and called Iruka. It didn't matter that his agent had been sleeping soundly.

"I found my story," Kakashi had blurted out.

"What?" had come Iruka's groggy reply. "Who is this?"

Kakashi had proceeded to tell him the rough outline of the plot; very rough indeed because he only knew that the bookstore woman had looked very compelling but he hadn't thought much about a plot in which to place her yet.

"I want to write something a little more dramatic. She's a woman whose husband died and she opens a bookstore to keep her mind busy during the day. But at night, she's not resting well because in her dreams she is able to bring a version of her husband to life each time. But each time, he gains more power over her and she loses power, until the transformation is complete. He's alive and now she's dead. Only, when he was alive, he was very unfaithful to her while she was good woman who didn't deserve to die."

It was a plot completely off the cuff and Kakashi knew probably before he even got off the phone it would change again. His mind was racing.

"Kakashi, I understand dramatic, but that sounds depressing," Iruka groaned. "And I think it's been done before."

"And the _Icha Icha_ books hadn't been?" Kakashi shot back.

"Fair enough. But Kakashi, it's still depressing. Do you have to go to such complete lengths to get away from your other series? What about giving it a happy ending? They have a half-life together?"

Kakashi just "hmm"ed into the phone again but said he would consider the change.

"Good. Then let me get back to sle-"

"I might need to work in a bookshop to get a feel for the business," Kakashi added, his mind already trying to write the novel.

"What? Why? Can't you google that stuff?"

"I suppose, but it would have a more authentic feel if I had experience."

"If it will get you writing again, then we can find out in the morning. Can I get my rest now? I've got a bad case of jet lag."

"Fine." They had hung up quickly. That night, Kakashi had begun drafting the rough draft, but as he had predicted, the storyline had already changed. He knew the woman, at least the version of her he was using in the story based on the real-life muse, had to be central.

Staying up a good part of the night to write was maybe not the best idea. Iruka had called him first thing in the morning, around seven. Kakashi had woken from his spot in front of his laptop, neck cricked from sleeping at a strange angle when he had finally dozed off mid-sentence.

"Meet me at the flower shop," Iruka had directed.

"I didn't think we were friends like that," Kakashi had teased, rubbing his stubble and deciding he could go one more day without shaving if he wore his mask. "You're not proposing, are you?"

Iruka said something rather rude down the phone.

"Okay, which flower shop?" Kakashi asked.

"There is only one flower shop in town," Iruka told him through gritted teeth. "I know the girl that works there. She'll know how to get you a job."

As it turned out, Kakashi had to hand it to Iruka. The woman who worked the flower shop, Ino, had known exactly how Kakashi could try to get a job.

"We're friends," she said. "But Himawari is like a flower with a bent stem. Be careful with her and she'll grow. Push too hard, too fast, and she'll break."

 _Perfect,_ Kakashi had thought. Just like the main character of a novel was supposed to be.

Which, through being careful, was how Kakashi currently found himself sitting in front of his muse, being interviewed. Up close, she was even more lovely than he had thought from the sidewalk.

Beautiful lavender eyes. Yes, his character would share those.

Short, choppy almost blue-black hair. It looked as if had been more of a dark, plum color too, judging by the visible roots. He might make it longer on his main character, but not by much because he thought shorter hair was cute.

Creamy, porcelain-like skin, just begging to be stroked beneath the thumbpad of some minor, secondary character that was only a distant memory.

Lips, the same color and shape as petals. Aching to be kissed by a hero.

How had he slipped into _Icha Icha_ mode again?

Because, this muse, like any other was a beautiful creature.

XX

Hinata thanked Kakashi for coming into the shop and let him know that she would be in contact about the job once the background check came back.

After he had left and the door was locked once more, she looked over his answers again. Nothing stuck out to her as suspicious. His handwriting was neat and tidy, his answers intelligent.

The mask worried her a little bit, but then again, she had her own secrets too. Perhaps it was even for something as innocent as adult acne or scary large lips.

Her gut told her that he would be fine to work in her shop. During the entirety of his visit, she had not felt the pressing anxiety or overwhelming sense of stomach-turning unease that some of her potential hires had induced.

Quite the opposite. Mr. Hatake had moved slowly and gently, his voice smooth and sure. Hinata rather felt like she was visiting with an old friend instead of a stranger. He really had been as non-threatening as a scarecrow in a field, as his name suggested.

Hinata dialed Ino, first to check out his story and, if it was true, get her take on the situation.

"Oh hey, you aren't a customer. I can guess what you're calling about Himawari," Ino laughed.

It was still, even after a year, weird to hear herself referred to as Hozuki Himawari. It had been the name of a girl much younger than her who had disappeared without a trace around the town where Hinata had grown up.

Hinata knew it had been a risk, but she couldn't have kept going as Uzumaki Hinata either, and her maiden name Hyuga was out because they were pretty well-known. She loved the name Himawari; it was a name she had been hoping to use for her daughter, should she ever have one.

In an act of desperation, after managing to escape, Hinata had reached out to Himawari's parents. They must have noted the despondency in her voice, in her face, because the wife had given her blessing for Hinata to continue on under her daughter's name.

Hinata supposed it also hadn't hurt that she had been covered in fresh and healing bruises, with small cuts peppered in. With her new identity in place, she had fled further, secure in the knowledge that it would be more difficult to track her then.

"Yeah, about that," Hinata said.

"What did you think? I thought he was kinda dreamy myself. He comes highly recommended through an acquaintance of mine," Ino added.

"Kinda dreamy? You can't see his face!" she protested.

"Adds to the mystery I find. But, I think he would draw customers in."

Hinata had to agree. She had been taken in. But a deeper, more secret part of herself also added that she might have been taken in already. Naruto had seemed so nice…well had been nice…was still nice…

"Sorry," she apologized, knowing that her mind had been off on a road trip down memory lane without her permission.

"That's okay Himawari. I would drift off myself too, well if I didn't have Sai to keep me company." Sai was Ino's artist boyfriend. Hinata wasn't overly fond of him, because it seemed that standard social mores were lacking when it came to hanging out with him. "How about this, I get him checked out for you. I have quick connections down at the police station, and _when_ he checks out, you hire him and see what happens."

"Okay," Hinata reluctantly agreed before they hung up so she could open the store for the day. Her stocking would just have to done around customers. Maybe, she really did need some help.

XX

 **Author's End Note:** Hope you enjoy, please leave a comment if this tickles your fancy!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the all the interest in this story so far. So sorry it's taken me forever to update. This chapter will start out dark, just fair warning. It's also more backstory than I had planned on and introduces a new character's perspective, just so the other storyline is up and running that will eventually intersect with Hinata's.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or its characters. I do not own the title of the fic; that belongs to Pierce the Veil.

 **Bedless**

 _'Cause you don't even know you're an angel  
Foolish am I for the times I come and go  
These stars defy love, so I close my eyes  
And sleep inside your worn-in bed outline_

-Pierce the Veil

 **Chapter 2**

 **Hinata**

Hinata awoke in a cold sweat, sheets tangled around her legs, keeping her bound to the bed. Brushing sweaty fringe from her eyes, she felt around for the lamp, light suddenly illuminating the darkness of the room. It was the same memory again.

Disentangling herself from the duvet, Hinata swung her legs out of bed and headed for the bathroom. That awful, overly-wet feeling was in her mouth and she knew from experience that she would throw up. Glancing at the space between her legs, Hinata felt the old familiar relief that the tops of her thighs were not stained red.

Once in the bathroom, she did throw up, but it wasn't much. She had been too tired to eat that night and had gone straight to bed. Rinsing her mouth out, Hinata tried not to glance in the mirror at her reflection, knowing full well what she would see staring back - a tired, pale woman, right on the vestiges of sanity.

Although her miscarriage had not happened in bed, the memory always haunted Hinata when she was at her most vulnerable. In fact, Hinata really couldn't recall some of the details. She knew she had fallen down the stairs, knew that it was a result of her and Naruto fighting, but she couldn't remember regaining consciousness in their flat. Her blood pressure had spiked suddenly, making her dizzy and faint; there was no way she wouldn't have fallen down the stairs.

It had been in the ambulance, but only in flashes. She did remember looking down at the tops of her thighs, seeing the horrific red stain that covered her jeans. Maybe a few more flashes in the emergency room, then nothing until she awoke in a room.

Shock, the doctors had told her, and a mild concussion. The worst had been having to remain awake when all she had wanted to do was curl up and die. No one would let her, especially Naruto. He kept her alive that night through sheer force of will.

The fight…what had it even been about?

As she wandered through her flat, Hinata tried to remember. What had any of their fights been about?

His drinking? His tendency to push her aside for "work"? The lipstick on his collar that was easily explained away? The lipstick around the base of his member that wasn't so easily explained away?

Hinata tried to push these aside as she headed for the kitchen. A good stiff cup of tea would set her right. Glancing at a clock, she noted that it was around 5 am already. At least the nightmare wasn't waking her up in the middle of the night like it used to.

With sudden clarity, the fight came back to her, as she made her way to the kitchen.

It was about these "friends" from work that kept him out all night. He hadn't been home at all that night, stumbling in well past dawn, reeking of booze and cigarettes, and possibly a very stale perfume. Hinata had lain awake most of the night, worrying about where he'd been.

This had become a pattern, Hinata mused, as she heated the water and selected a loose tea. Oolong with a bit of cream and sugar would be almost as reviving as hot chocolate, which she was out of currently.

Naruto had started staying out late not too long after they had been married. He was a police officer, so it made sense that he worked weird hours because of shifts and overtime. Then, when the excuses got flimsier, Hinata still felt like she could forgive him as long as he came home to her at the end of the night.

But he had not become violent with her until after she had lost the baby. Hinata had figured it was because deep down he blamed her in some way. He would become inexplicably angry, lashing out with words and fists.

At first, she ruminated as she sat down at the immaculate table, it had been only when he was very drunk. After he sobered up, Naruto couldn't remember a thing, always seemed so shocked when Hinata woke him up and she was covered in little bruises and scrapes. He would buy her something expensive to make up for it.

Then, it seemed like he was drinking all the time, hitting her for the least little thing. There were other things too, like the time he accused her of being a cheating whore and had taken a bottle to her…

The teacup shook in her hands, splashing hot tea all over her fingers. Hinata realized, with a nasty shock, that the tea had also scalded her lap.

Abandoning the teacup, she took off for the shower. There was no way the shop could open today, Hinata realized as hot tears streamed down her face.

Instead, it would be a call to her therapist's office to see if there would be any way she could get an appointment. Her anniversary, she decided, and the stranger from the day before last had left her floundering.

 **Naruto**

He sat awkwardly on the bar stool, his vision blurred, the football game on television nothing more than colorful shapes chasing after a black and white phantom. It was nearly closing time; he had been there a good part of the night.

The pictures at home had just been too haunting. Hinata's beautiful face staring at him, accusing him, of letting her be abducted from their home.

It would have been their anniversary; a happy time.

She would have tried to cook him something wonderful…

He slipped off the stool, crashing to the floor.

"Hey buddy, I'm cutting you off," someone above snarked.

"I've got him," a smoother voice said, reaching under his arms and hoisting him back up.

The blurry face seemed familiar, right before Naruto vomited spectacularly and blacked out.

 **Kakashi**

He was only minorly disappointed that the beautiful Himawari had not called him back yet. Ino's words came back to him, about Himawari being a delicate flower that might break.

She had seemed very nervous about letting him into the store. And about the interview. And pretty much everything.

But at the same time, she also seemed to like him.

But, Kakashi had many experiences with this before. Women always wanted a bit of a mystery with him and there had been many affairs.

Just that, affairs. He had probably never had a woman that had not been had by someone else. Which, there was nothing wrong with married or experienced women, because they knew what they liked. He had gotten plenty of experience for _Icha Icha_ without resorting to late night porn.

Kakashi had never had a real, stable relationship with someone who was not already married. Had not had a real stable relationship ever, that he could remember in recent memory anyway.

When he had moved from the big city to the small town, he had left those Tinder dates behind. Kakashi was done with that lifestyle, the monotony of "don't let my husband find out" or "my husband is out for a few hours, can you come over?" It got old being the plaything of rich, horny women when you weren't twenty anymore.

Most guys would call him crazy, but Kakashi was just tired of only being wanted for one or two things, neither of which was his mind. He was fast approaching forty and had realized when he was walking through the park or going out to eat, that he wanted to be like one of those fathers he watched playing with their kids.

He could almost hear Jiraiya in his head now, "You're nuts! Don't settle down! Never settle!" Jiraiya had led that kind of partying lifestyle, and look where it had gotten him. Massive Heart attack, before his time. Kakashi didn't want that anymore. The random hookups when it was convenient, just for his body. He had plenty of material now, he wasn't young and inexperienced like he had been when Jiraiya had taken him under his wing way back in the day.

Kakashi wanted to put some roots down, be a father, and lead a more meaningful life. He still wanted to write, but he wanted more interesting plot lines, something deeper than just dalliances and lust.

It had been well over a year since any of those women had even texted him, even longer since he had said "yes" to any of their proposals.

His cellphone rang and Kakashi stumbled over his carpet of sleeping dogs to answer it. A little rush of disappointment when Kakashi noticed it was a number he knew very well.

"Iruka, this had better be good," he growled.

"Well hello to you too!" Iruka snapped. "I was calling with some good news."

"That's different then. What is it?"

"My friend at the flower shop says there is a good possibility you will get the job after all. She just called Himawari with your background check and said things were looking very good."

"Great. Now can I get back to work?"

Kakashi was too anxious to really sit down and write. He was seriously considering taking the dogs for a walk, just to let some of that nervous energy off. The dogs, however, seemed to have a different idea of how they wanted to spend their afternoon.

"Authors, can't live with them, can't make them happy," Iruka grumbled as they exchanged quick goodbyes.

At least, there seemed to be a possibility of Himawari getting back to him.

He nudged the nearest dog with a sock-clad foot, only to be met with a low growl in return.

Giving up for the time being, Kakashi sat down at his laptop once again and tried to pound out a little more build to his characters. His hero was turning out to be suspiciously like himself, his heroine was two dimensional, and everyone else was cardboard.

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, glanced at his phone again although he knew she had not called.

Telling himself it was for inspiration, Kakashi ended up just getting on youtube for a while.

 **Hinata**

The day before last had been a complete write-off, she knew. Hinata had spent well over an hour in the shower, the chilly water finally persuading her to do something else for a while.

Her therapist had made arrangements to see her later that afternoon. Luckily there had been a cancellation.

Hinata hated that her past still held so much sway over her life, hated that she had virtually no control some days. It had been a wasted day, personally and financially, but it had not happened in a long time. She did take some comfort in that; it had been nearly 4 months.

Once out of the shower, Hinata had exercised for a little while, hoping to work herself into exhaustion. When that didn't work, she baked a whole batch of cookies and ate half of them, feeling guilty but slightly cheered up.

She had read once that chocolate was a cure-all for horrific memories.

When it came time to visit her therapist, Hinata slipped out the back way of her flat just in case customers might be lurking around. She didn't want them to see her in such a state.

In the comfort of the office, Hinata had been able to just let things go.

This morning, Hinata had awoken from a deep sleep feeling a little more refreshed. Lying in bed with the duvet tucked up under her arms, she realized that yesterday would have been less of a disaster if someone else had been in charge.

Perhaps, Ino would give her a call after all today.

Later, when she was finishing her prep work for the day, Hinata's phone rang somewhere across the door. Straightening her stiff back, the store phone proved hard to find. Hinata had a cheap burner phone for emergencies, but she didn't like using it or giving out the number. It was literally only so that her cousin, Neji, could contact her with any really important family news. In the year she had been in hiding, Neji had only called one time to tell her that her sister had finally gotten married.

"Yes?" Hinata asked, slightly breathless. The phone had been under a stack of paperwork.

"Hey, you didn't open yesterday, huh?" Ino asked.

"No, I was sick," she said quickly. Hopefully Ino wouldn't notice.

"Oh, sorry. Well, my friends at the police station say he comes back clear. You should hire him, just in case you have any more sick days, right? It would be so nice to have someone that could just run things for a day or two."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that. I guess I will," Hinata found herself answering. After a quick exchange with Ino, Hinata hung up.

Glancing at a clock, she realized she was a few minutes late opening. A few customers were already waiting outside, looking concerned about the times listed on the door. The phone call would just have to wait.

Hours later, Hinata was exhausted. It had been a busy day of regulars and orders. If she was honest with herself, all the little bookstore owner wanted to do was curl up in a blanket and veg out on bad television.

 _I've got to make the phone call though._

Before retiring upstairs, Hinata dialed the number listed on the interview sheet. The line rang so many times that she felt a bead of sweat trickle down her back, as to whether he would actually answer or not.

"Hello?" came a groggy, unmistakably male greeting.

"Y-yes, t-this i-i-i-is, Hi-Himawari, f-f-from t-the s-s-s-s-store?" There was a huge lump in her throat.

"Oh, well, hello Himawari. How are you?"

Her insides melted a little bit. Why was she so nervous? "Oh, f-fine. I-I- um wanted t-to," she swallowed past the lump. "Let you know. That. You g-got t-the j-job."

"Great! I was really hoping it would work out." She could almost feel the joy radiating off of him through the connection. But she couldn't let herself get caught up in another man.

"Me too."

She told him a time to come the next day, to show him how the store worked (a time when plenty of customers were usually around just in case) and they exchanged brief goodbyes.

That night, Hinata slept just a little bit better.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the all the interest in this story so far. Thank you for all the feedback on this story.

There will be some flashbacks in the story. I'll mark them as best I can. There will be "good memories" and "bad memories." This chapter contains a "bad memory" at the very end that serves to help illustrate why she left. I hope it isn't too over the top, but it is supposed to show how bad Naruto was to her. So he might be a touch OOC?

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or its characters. I do not own the title of the fic; that belongs to Pierce the Veil.

 **Bedless**

 _'Cause you don't even know you're an angel  
Foolish am I for the times I come and go  
These stars defy love, so I close my eyes  
And sleep inside your worn-in bed outline_

-Pierce the Veil

 **Chapter 3**

 **Hinata**

Hinata waited anxiously for Kakashi to show up. There were some customers milling around, lounging in chairs reading, or sipping coffee and chatting. She felt more comfortable having people around her.

The door chime sang out, announcing a new arrival.

To Hinata's immense relief, it was Kakashi after all. He unwrapped a great thick scarf from his face, revealing that strange thin coverup beneath. His silver hair was still wind-sprung, though it looked as if an attempt had been made to style it.

"Good afternoon," he said, striding over to the counter.

"Good afternoon," she answered, tilting her head down to avoid looking directly at him.

"So, sensei, what are you going to show me today?" he asked, teasing her.

"What? Oh, no. Um…" She was stalling.

What had she planned on showing him for today?

"Just take a breath," he suggested. "I'm a fast learner and I'm not in any hurry."

"Okay." She breathed, in the same manner her therapist had taught her.

"Better?"

"Yeah." She bit her lip to keep from stuttering. Hinata hadn't stuttered this much since… She preferred not to think of that time. "Better. I'll show you the coffee station?"

It had come out as more a question. She had never trained anyone in her life. In fact, this was only her second job. Before, even before she was married, she worked at a bookstore because it felt comfortable. She had not owned the bookstore, not even close, but she had learned some of the basics of running one.

When Hinata had married Naruto, he had wanted her to give up working. His income, as a police officer had been enough at the time, to sustain them both. He had convinced her to leave a good, full-time job to stay at home and clean. It would be best for when the baby arrived, when there was a baby.

Being at home had been more boring than she liked to admit. Their flat was tiny and there had not been much to do. Hinata had turned back to her first love, reading. She had read everything she could get her hands on.

But that was a lifetime away now, it seemed. Kakashi Hatake, whoever he was really, was here with her now, waiting patiently for directions.

"Sorry, drifted away for a moment," she mumbled.

"No reason to apologize," he said. "Like I said, I've got all afternoon."

Hinata began showing him all the bells and whistles of her coffee machines. Her voice shook, but held for the most part as she explained. Her recipes were fairly simple: coffee, whipped cream, and syrup. Or some variation on that.

Kakashi did fine with the brewing the coffee; he was an expert, just as he claimed. His whipped cream and syrup work needed some fine tuning. Hinata's customers didn't seem to mind too much either way.

"I'll move onto the stock then?" Hinata asked, feeling stupid for asking. She was the boss after all.

Kakashi told her as much.

She showed him around the store, all the different genres and areas. Her store was small, compared to one of the big-box ones, but it was cozy. Hinata had a lot of fiction, but she did a healthy business in special orders for obscure things.

Kakashi paused in front of the romance, well erotic books. Hinata worked hard to suppress a blush. She enjoyed these types of books very rarely now. Hers tended to be more cozy mysteries and fantasy now.

"Do you read these?" she asked.

"Sometimes." As if awaking out of a fog, he followed her to their next destination in the store. There was a bunch of paperwork for him to fill out so Hinata let him sit at one of the café tables with one of her brews.

Hinata noticed some of the glances her newest employee was getting, especially from the women. She couldn't stop the little surge of inexplicable jealousy that overtook her at the counter.

 _You can't even see his face!_ She reminded herself angrily.

But his skintight mask did not leave much to the imagination. Unless there was some super-gross scarring under there, Hinata had all idea that her newest employee was quite a babe, using one of Ino's choice phrases.

"Here you go," he said about an hour later. Everything was neat and orderly, his handwriting almost beautiful.

"Thank you. Come back tomorrow." She said it firmly this time. "How about when I open, around eight?"

"Great. I'll see you at eight. And I'll also stop rhyming so much Himawari," he told her with a wink of those fathomless grey eyes.

"Okay," and she laughed. The sound almost surprised her; it had been so long. She was temporarily caught off guard; it was real and genuine.

And it didn't stop, not for a while, until she was alone. But even when she was alone, it wasn't as bad as it had been the other day.

 **Kakashi**

The time at the store had been very beneficial for him. He had seen some of the innerworkings of a bookstore, and his storyline had changed again.

The muse opens a bookstore after an unhappy marriage and now she's trying to make it work, with a new love interest.

Ugh. Too much like himself. He somehow just couldn't resist inserting himself into the narrative.

But he had noticed the light spot on her ring finger, where there had been something at one time. So, she had been married, he assumed, taking a page out of a Sherlock story.

So, scratch the love interest. His heroine needed something else. But what?

"Ugh!" He ran his hands through his mass of silver hair. Why was this so difficult?

In his other novels, not only would the hero have had the woman in his bed, someone else would have had her by now and in multiple ways. Maybe he should go back to writing that dribble!

Her bookstore, he noted with a little pride, had some of his books and they were not collecting dust but looked like reasonably new copies.

Pakkun, his smallest dog, came over and pushed him with his cold, wet nose. Ever the trendsetter, all the other dogs came bounding up for a walk.

Maybe a walk was the best idea right now. Clear his head. His storylines were mixing with his real life.

There was no denying that Himawari was a beautiful woman. He had noticed that when just walking by.

But when he had made her smile and laugh, his whole perspective about her had changed.

She was radiant. All of her darkness that she wore like a shadow had disappeared for just that instant.

Kakashi decided, as he and the dogs banged their way down the steps of the apartment, that his main character would have the same smile; the same laugh too.

He and the dogs headed to the nearby park for a jog. He tried not to think about much of anything as they ran laps. With eight, former strays all it took was one momentary loss of concentration and things would go tumbling.

 **Naruto**

When he woke up, his mouth tasted like cotton balls. He moved his tongue around in his mouth woodenly, feeling each and every dry crevice.

A drum was playing just behind his eyeballs; when he tried to move, it seemed like a whole concert was now raging on, using his head as a stadium.

He was used to waking up in places he didn't recognize, sometimes with people he didn't know.

But the person in front of him was someone he recognized; not only recognized, but knew very well.

"Sasuke?" he asked, blearily. His hand was already searching for a drink, whether this was his home or not.

"Yeah. It's me, Uzumaki." Somber, Uchiha Sasuke swam into view.

Naruto hadn't seen him since they had been through training together. He had heard that Sasuke had progressed through the force rapidly, making detective really fast while Naruto had remained on the beat.

"What do you want?" he grumbled. A glass of water appeared in his hand, two painkillers in the other.

"I need you to sober up enough to answer some questions about your wife's disappearance," Sasuke said.

 **Hinata**

When Hinata got up in the mornings over the next week, it was no longer quite the struggle she remembered. She was getting up a few minutes earlier than her alarm each time. Her cup of coffee didn't seem to take nearly as long to drink, didn't have to revive her as much.

Just small changes that she couldn't really explain away, other than she had been, perhaps, a little lonely after all.

While she and Kakashi were not talking about any more than their work, she felt a bond of sorts with him none the less. He was attentive and tried hard to learn, asked a lot of questions about her processes, about the stock.

She allowed him to work with the customers, to handle some of the transactions, make the coffee. It was refreshing being able to get time to finish putting away books and completing orders. Ino had been right, she did need some good help.

The others she had hired had not measured up to Kakashi's standard. By the end of the second day, they had already driven her up the wall, by the end of the week they had already stopped showing up on time.

When Hinata came down from her flat, Kakashi was waiting at the door patiently, his breath puffing out in the chilly fall air. After letting him in, she would make them both another cup of coffee.

On the first morning, Hinata had been curious about how he was going to drink the coffee without removing his mask.

"Do you ever go without it?" she asked, then realized she had pretty much just blurted it out.

"Oh, this?" Without much thought, he tugged the mask down over a shapely nose and lips, revealing smooth, clear skin on one side. The other side had a long, pink scar that she had not noticed as much when his face was covered. It actually bisected his left eye. How had she not noticed that and why was she noticing it now?

He was much younger than she thought, no wrinkles or acne pockmarks. Probably in his thirties.

Hinata felt a familiar flutter in her chest, but she squashed it down. Best not to even invite that door to open.

"So why?" she asked, although she probably suspected.

"Well, the girls all go for it," he smiled. Hinata couldn't help be reminded of the toughened hero in a romance, who was finally letting his identity crack. "Secret identity, you know?"

Hinata was almost sure that he was hiding something, but she didn't press. After all, she wasn't who he thought she was either.

She had watched him drink the coffee down, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly with the reflex. Hinata hadn't meant to stare, but it had been so long since she had been this close to a man.

More feelings and memories were threatening to come back through the void. Hinata mentally slammed them down and locked them away again.

"Good cup of coffee," Kakashi told her.

"Thanks."

When he was finished, he had deftly tugged the mask back up. And they had continued on this way ever since, their ritual.

Hinata was starting to finally relax a little, after a year of running scared, trying to keep her business running, worrying about whether Naruto was going to come back. But it seemed, that for the time being, it wouldn't kill her to relax a bit.

 _ **A Bad Memory**_

 _Hinata could hear the grumble of Naruto's engine outside, a bead of sweat dribbling down her back. His car had a very distinct sound._

 _Dinner was not ready and it didn't taste the way she was hoping it would._

 _The car door slammed and she knew, any moment now he would be heading up the stone walk to their flat._

 _She panicked, trying to stir everything at once and trying to check her appearance. Since the miscarriage…_

 _Naruto liked her to look a certain way: hair piled on her head, face painted like one of those women on the Real Housewives show, skin-tight dress that held her breasts high and showed her milky thighs._

 _When it was Hinata alone, she preferred the comfort of big, clingy clothes and soft, stretchy pants. She liked keeping her hair down and the makeup to a minimum._

 _Normally Hinata, was pretty good at basic foods. Naruto really preferred ramen in all different ways. But today, house chores had taken way too long to complete. Naruto had done a lot of damage to their flat; breaking things and spilling things._

 _She sucked at a burned finger as she tried to combine things into bowls. This wasn't going to work._

 _The door opened and she could hear him stumbling in, the odd obscenity making its way toward her._

 _Shit!_

 _She tried to put things on the table, but liquid was sloshing everywhere on her hand, the dress…_

" _Hinata!" he shouted. She cringed. He could make her name sound like a dirty word._

" _Y-y-yes, d-d-dear?" she asked. There was a lump in her throat._

 _She would wonder why the neighbors never called the police, never made a report. Hinata guessed it was because Naruto usually drove his squad car home and he told them a lie she had heard him tell people from work: "Oh you know the little wife likes it rough. Daddy issues."_

" _Is dinner ready?"_

" _Y-y-y-y-y-"_

" _Is it or isn't it, you dumb bitch?" he roared. He was worse when he was hungry and drunk. She felt a flash of anger color her vision._

" _Yes," she finally said, fingers itching to pick up the frying pan and stun him, give him a taste of his own medicine. Maybe tonight, she would._

" _Good." He sat down at the table, reaching for the sake bottle she had just put out; sans cup. She watched for a moment as he gulped greedily._

 _Hinata resumed her usual seat across from him, but waited for him to dig in first. He was drunk so hopefully he wouldn't be able to taste what she had burned or notice that some things were only half-cooked through._

 _He began wolfing down his food, without so much as a thank you, or a consideration for maybe how her day had gone. She had these cheerful imaginary conversations in her head, based mostly on memories from their first year of marriage._

 _Suddenly, Naruto spit the food back out. It was disgusting, and she had to turn away._

" _What are you trying to do, you filthy whore? Poison me?"_

 _It was like something out of a bad Lifetime movie, but it was really happening to her, and she couldn't stop it. She didn't know how to stop it because she didn't really know how it started._

 _He jumped up from the table with more speed than Hinata thought possible, grabbed her by the hair and wrenched her down to the floor._

" _What am I supposed to do now?" he spat. Hinata could feel angry, hot tears, welling up in her eyes. Her head ached, her knees bruised from where she had landed hard on them._

" _S-s-s-s-stop, p-p-p-p-p-p-p-please!" she cried. Her hair felt like it was being torn from her scalp. "I-i-i-i'm s-s-s-s-sorry!" she whimpered over and over again, although she really had nothing to be sorry for._

 _Naruto let up from her hair, but he kept her pinned to the floor._

" _Why wasn't dinner finished? Hm? Were you fucking someone else?" he shouted, spit flying into her face. "Is that aftershave I can smell on you?"_

 _Naruto ran a salacious hand up her thigh, pushing the dress up to her hips. "Is that his cum I feel between your legs?" He ripped at her underwear; it was not romantic as the movies depicted. It hurt, she could feel her flesh tearing with the effort._

 _Finally, the fabric gave and he began touching her. "Did you spread your legs for him like you do me?"_

 _His face was dangerously close to her own, his voice low and insistent now. Hot, foul breath washed over her, making her nauseous. "Do I need to teach you a lesson?" he asked._

" _No!" she sobbed. What had changed? Just a few months ago, she would have willingly stripped down and lay on the table for him if he wanted her. "N-n-no, no one else has had me Naruto! P-p-p-lease, believe me!"_

 _Her hips ached, she could feel little welts of blood collecting beneath her dress. Those stains would be tough to get out tomorrow._

" _Hmmm." He buried his face in the tendrils of her hair that had come down from the complicated twist she had tamed it into, fingers now reaching for her breasts._

 _Hinata sobbed and was never quite sure what came over her as she grabbed one of the discarded dishes that had not managed to break when Naruto had grabbed her from the chair._

 _In the blink of an eye, she had the china plate up and was smacking him up the side of the head with it. It smashed, spraying her with little shards. Naruto wasn't knocked out, but he was stunned._

 _Hinata, surprised, pushed him off of her and tried to run. Her whole body hurt. This wasn't an escape plan. This wasn't anything. She had no idea, and now, he would probably kill her._

 _There was a roar behind her that sent shivers down her spine. It was almost inhuman, as if he were no more man than beast. Hinata ran for the stairs, hoping that might slow him up. She regretted not running for the door when she had the chance. Why hadn't she? She was truly no better than those girls in the horror movies she had shouted at when she was young._

 _Naruto grabbed her ankle and pulled her down a few steps. The hardwood hurt, but Hinata brushed it aside to fight. She kicked wildly, heedless of what the consequences were going to be, an animal instinct awakened. But, she just wasn't strong enough, not anymore._

 _Though she fought, all the way to the top of the stairs, fought all the way into the bedroom, she couldn't fight the unspeakable things he did to her in their bed..._


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the all the interest in this story so far. Thank you for all the feedback on this story.

Sorry for the long hiatus. Updates will still be sporadic.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or its characters. I do not own the title of the fic; that belongs to Pierce the Veil.

 **Bedless**

 _'Cause you don't even know you're an angel  
Foolish am I for the times I come and go  
These stars defy love, so I close my eyes  
Over the And sleep inside your worn-in bed outline_

-Pierce the Veil

 **Chapter 4**

 **Hinata**

Over the next few weeks, Hinata and Kakashi fell into an easy routine. He worked a few hours six days of the week, while Sunday was reserved for rest. Before Kakashi, Hinata opened on Sundays just to keep from being alone.

Now, they were both busy enough during the week, she felt like she needed to recharge just one day.

This Sunday, she decided that her flat could use a facelift in the kitchen. Hinata had always dreamed of a beautiful French kitchen, in buttercream with periwinkle blue cabinets. The hardware store had some markdown gallons that were close enough.

With everything all prepped, Hinata was just starting to roll the fresh paint when the doorbell rang to her flat. Hinata exerted all her willpower not to drop the paint roller into the dish and spray everything with buttercream yellow.

The doorbell never rang. Ino usually called before she showed up.

On shaky legs, Hinata went to her intercom.

"Y-yes?" she asked. _What if it was Naruto, after all this time?_

"Good morning! It's Kakashi."

Relief flooded through her.

"Oh, Kakashi." She didn't know how to ask him what he wanted, without being rude.

"I was wondering if you would like some donuts. I got them fresh from the bakery on the corner."

Dinah's Donuts. Her mouth began watering.

"Okay, I'll buzz you up." The flat above the bookstore had been more than one apartment at some time and then converted into a larger single.

On the outside stair, she heard his heavy tread. Conflicting feelings waged war inside her as she waited for him to show up. No one, save Ino and possibly Sai had been into her inner sanctorum. Now, she had been bought for the price of a few donuts.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

He knocked on the door and Hinata took a few, slow deep breaths. This was no different from him coming in everyday to work.

She opened the door. He was waiting on the other side, large white box held out in offering. The heady scent of sugar and grease made her feel a little light-headed.

Naruto used to do things like this for her, back when they were first dating. Her chest constricted for a second.

"I thought you might like a treat Himawari," he said, pulling his mask down and smiling.

She moved aside and let him walk past her. He stopped a few feet away. This comforted Hinata, that he wasn't just going to move around in her space without asking.

"Sure. I was just getting ready to paint my kitchen, so we might have to eat in the living room."

"Really? Do you need any help?"

Did she? It had been a long time since someone had volunteered their time. When Hinata and Naruto had moved into their flat, he had spent a lot of time helping her fix the place up. Only, if she recalled, it was on his terms and not her own.

That strange flutter ruffled her chest again, the one not connected to anxiety.

"Oh, well I-well-I couldn't ask you on your day off," she told him.

"I'm not doing anything special today. It wouldn't be a problem."

Hinata bit her lip and glanced at the donuts resting on the coffee table.

"Well, if it won't be a problem, then sure. Would you like some coffee?"

"That's up to you. I don't want to impose."

"We spend a lot of our time around coffee. It's not a problem. I'll be right back." Hinata paused for a second. She felt so awkward, because it had been so long since she had someone of the opposite sex in her home alone. "Make yourself at home." There wasn't much of anything he could get into that would reveal her secrets.

Kakashi

When he had gotten off work on Saturday, he had stayed up most of the night writing. The story was pouring out of him now.

His heroine was coming out of her shell at the bookstore, getting to know the people in the small town and throwing themed parties to raise the money to keep the store open. There was a small love interest in the background in a man who comes to browse the books every day on his way to his doctor's practice, but Kakashi didn't think he resembled the love interest at all.

When the sun had started rising, Kakashi's belly had rumbled something ferocious. Donuts had sounded wonderful, as that's what his characters were having during a particularly riveting conversation about their pasts.

Dinah's were the best and he knew the store was right near Himawari's place.

On purely a spur of the moment decision, he found himself walking up to her flat above the bookstore. Kakashi had no idea what possessed him, but he was glad she had at least let him in and needed his help. If he had been in a book, this would have been something to move the plot along.

He could hear her moving around in the kitchen.

Filled to the brim with nervous energy, Kakashi stood up and walked around, investigating his surroundings.

The living room was decorated simply but inviting. Books were stacked around in various stages of completion. He glanced at some of the titles, noting they ran primarily to cozy mysteries. Something was lacking.

Cheap art prints, possibly from secondhand stores. Flowers and vases on tables. Things all neat and tidy.

Pictures.

There were absolutely no pictures of Himawari with anyone or doing anything. No family. No friends.

A black and white picture near a doorway caught his eye. He cast a backwards glance toward the kitchen, but Himawari was still busy.

Ultrasound.

While Kakashi didn't have a lot of experience with pregnancy or children, he did know an ultrasound picture when he saw one.

He could see the grainy formations of a head and tummy, a little fist raised. A little life; a miracle.

Himawari had never said anything about children. Perhaps a relative's? Friend's?

Kakashi glanced at the patient name in the corner. Uzumaki, Hinata.

The name didn't mean anything to him. He moved on.

Hinata

She returned with two cups of hot coffee and small saucers to see Kakashi moving around her living room, picking up books and flipping through them.

"Do you read mysteries?" she asked, sitting back down.

"Sometimes. You're going to laugh, but I really like to read romance."

"Really?" She selected a cream-filled donut covered in powdered sugar.

The bite was heaven, melting in her mouth. She moaned.

"I've found your weak spot, huh?" Kakashi asked.

"Oh yes. I know yours, you know mine." She licked her lips, trying to get the last morsels of sugar.

"Fair is fair."

Talk turned, as always, to books. Hinata knew she was being a little more open than she usually was, but it felt good. Right, somehow – almost healing.

This was how normal people lived their lives as adults.

Kakashi helped her in the kitchen, where their talk subsided into a shared quiet save for the wet slick of the paint rollers. He painted the cabinets and her the walls.

"I guess it is takeout tonight," Hinata said, looking around the still-drying kitchen.

Beside her, Kakashi yawned. He had dark circles around his eyes and his stubble was moving past four o' clock into the shade.

"Could I take you out?" he asked.

"I've imposed on you enough," she told him. "You look beat."

"I am. But, a guy's still gotta eat right?"

She mulled it over for a few seconds. "Yeah."

"Come on. I won't make you go too far. There's a ramen stan-"

"No!" Hinata said, a little more sharply than she intended.

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at her for a moment but didn't pry.

"So, no ramen. Pizza then?"

"If that would be okay."

Hinata hated the smell of ramen. She tried not to eat it these days.

They stepped out into the chilly night, moving at a casual pace towards the pizzaria few blocks away.

The night was beautiful, hardly any traffic on the roads, and the streetlights casting a cheerful orange aura around everything.

"I really appreciate you helping me today," Hinata told him.

"No problem." He yawned. "Anytime."

She still felt awkward, but it was more like that "first date" awkward. If this was a romance novel, he would have taken her hand.

No, he was taking her hand.

"Don't want to lose track of you while crossing the street," he said, giving her bare hand a small squeeze. She liked the contrast in their hands, rough against smooth.

Once at the pizza place, they ordered a pie to share. Hinata had to smile because Kakashi was fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Why are you so tired?" she asked.

"I may have stayed up most of the night," he told her, stifling another yawn.

The question was out of her mouth before she could stop it: "Doing what?"

"Writing."

"Writing? Are we going to stock any of your books Mr. Hatake?" she teased.

"Maybe. I'll have to see how this one turns out."

Kakashi

Himawari had insisted they share a cab when they left the pizzeria. Kakashi thought it was nice that she genuinely cared that he made it home safely.

Once the cab had dropped her off, he pondered the day in the stuffy silence of the car. It had been like a first date; a real first date, not one from his fantasy world. Just "hanging out" as the kids called it.

Uzumaki, Hinata.

He had meant to ask her about the ultrasound picture but didn't want to pry. This was the most open and honest he had ever seen her.

The name still nagged at him though. He wrote it down in a notebook he kept in his pocket.

Perhaps he would google the name, simply to ease his own curiosity and so that he didn't bother her. Kakashi tried to convince himself this wasn't cyber stalking.

Once home, he kicked off his shoes and gave Uzumaki, Hinata one more glancing thought before he collapsed onto bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the all the interest in this story so far. Thank you for all the feedback on this story.

Sorry for the long hiatus. Updates will still be sporadic.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or its characters. I do not own the title of the fic; that belongs to Pierce the Veil.

 **Bedless**

 _'Cause you don't even know you're an angel  
Foolish am I for the times I come and go  
These stars defy love, so I close my eyes  
Over the And sleep inside your worn-in bed outline_

-Pierce the Veil

 **Chapter 5**

 **Hinata**

The next morning, Ino called while Hinata was getting ready to open the store. Kakashi had already called to let her know he would be late.

"Word on the street is that you two were spotted at the pizzeria last night when the store wasn't open," Ino said, matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, he came over."

"Really? I want all the details."

Hinata explained everything. This was what normal women did. She felt another surge of pride that maybe finally things were going to go back to the way they used to be.

"Well, according to my latest issue of Cosmo, it seems like he's into you."

"I don't know. I'm not sure I'm looking for a relationship right now," Hinata said, chewing on her lip.

"The people that usually aren't are the ones that find one you know."

"I suppose."

It had been over a year. She wished there was someone else she could talk to, get another opinion.

"Anyway, well just something to think about."

Talk turned to other subjects as Hinata breathed a sigh of relief that the attention was taken off her.

 **Kakashi**

Uzumaki, Hinata.

He flipped through his notebook.

Just a quick Google wouldn't hurt anything, would it?

That name was bothering him.

His phone rang.

"Yello?"

"Hey, how is the big novel going?" Iruka asked, his enthusiastic voice vibrating the phone.

"Iruka, well…it's going," Kakashi said, ready to bang his head on the desk. Any thought of looking into that name went out the window.

"So, I've had an idea for your novel. Just in case you were stuck? See, what if you added a plot twist, where she is really an alien, like the kind from space…?" Iruka continued in this vein for some time. Kakashi sat back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

It was best if he just let his agent talk. Eventually, Pakkun came and jumped up into Kakashi's lap to be petted.

"So, what do you think?" Iruka finally finished.

"Uh, yeah, I'll think about it and get back to you." His standard answer for these tangents.

"So how is that job going? Must be good according to your earlier email. You think it's going to be done soon?"

"Oh, I think so. It was nice chatting with you, but I've got to get back to writing," Kakashi said, by way of ending the conversation. He knew it sounded like Iruka had more to say, but he hurriedly hung up.

He breathed a sigh of relief as Pakkun jumped down from his lap and ran off.

"Traitor," he called after the dog. "I thought you were going to stay and help me write." Pakkun started barking at the door.

Kakashi guessed that was the secret signal for him to take the pack of dogs out.

"No reason to get your tails in a twist," Kakashi mumbled, abandoning his computer once more and leaving the apartment. The search was the furthest thing from his mind.

 **Naruto**

Over a sobering cup of coffee, Naruto considered his old classmate. Sasuke was writing some things down in a notepad, flicking back through previous notes. The thick casefile was spread out over the table in the small, white interview room.

"Why are we discussing this case?" Naruto grumbled. His head was still pounding from the previous night's activities.

"Your case came across my desk. The station wants results. So I'm reviewing the information, you know, looking for anything new that sticks out. Tell me about the day you came home again."

Naruto tried to remember. It had been a little over a year.

"The house was a mess," Naruto recalled. "Things everywhere."

"Was anything taken?" Sasuke asked, consulting some notes in his pad.

Naruto thought, trying to picture the house on the day his life had completely crumbled beyond his control.

"No," he answered. "Nothing more than some of her clothes." Had he told the police that originally? Probably not. It had been a few months since he had noticed, because it was those old clothes she insisted on wearing.

"Really?" Sasuke scribbled this information down. "What else?"

"Money had been missing. Not much."

That had taken longer to discover, little withdrawals from the bank he hadn't noticed.

"You didn't report these things originally," Sasuke said, consulting an old report.

"I didn't know about them," Naruto snapped. He knew they were trying to make him look like a suspect.

"What else?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto thought back through his police training – notice what sticks out or doesn't stick out.

"The ransacking. Something was wrong with it." He couldn't think what though. If only this damn headache would ease off. When he was drunk, Naruto could think so clearly.

"Let me tell you what we think," Sasuke said. "With nothing of value missing, only a few clothes, and just random, nonvaluable areas ransacked, we have reason to believe that she staged the house and ran. We found no fingerprints besides hers and yours, no DNA evidence that suggests she was abducted as you claimed. The other alternative is that you killed her and tried to cover it up. Is that true, that you murdered your wife Uzumaki?" Sasuke's voice climbed in decibel over this last question.

"What? No, I loved her! I was devastated when she disappeared," Naruto shouted. He stood up from the table very suddenly, fists clenched.

"Just checking," Sasuke smirked. "I did some checking around of surveillance from that time, spoke to her cousin, Neji, and I think she ran. Do you want to tell me why she would run?" Sasuke asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Were those rumors true?"

Naruto swallowed and sat down. "Now let me explain," Naruto started.

 **Hinata**

She awoke in a cold sweat from a nightmare. Hinata wasn't sure what had woken her up at first. Trying to block the white noise from her head, Hinata focused on her burner phone.

Neji.

She scrambled out of the bed, fingers scrambling for her flip phone.

"Hello?" she croaked. Glancing at her bedside clock, Hinata realized it was nearly five in the morning. Neji had always been an early riser.

"Hinata." A sigh of relief.

"What was my secret indulgence show as a child?" Hinata asked, just to be sure. They had set up these routine questions to ensure they were speaking on a clear line.

"My Little Pony," Neji answered in a growl.

"What was your secret indulgence as a child?" she asked, listening to the little sounds of impatience coming from the other end of the line.

"Spiderman comics," Neji choked out.

"What's wrong Neji?" Hinata asked, her pulse pounding in her ears.

"It may be nothing," Neji began.

Hinata slumped down on the floor. It was just like her cousin to be mysterious.

"Neji," she all but screamed.

"But Uchiha Sasuke came snooping around about you a day or so ago," Neji told her, keeping his tone business-like.

"Sasuke…" she whispered. All of his family were active in the police force back home. His older brother, Itachi, had been a distinguished, decorated detective before he had been killed in the line of fire during a drug raid.

"Again, it may be nothing," Neji said.

"Or it may be something. What did he ask you?" She felt dizzy.

"Just standard questions. Did I really believe that you were abducted? Have I had any contact with you lately? Did I know where you might have hidden if you were to run away from your marriage? Have I spoken to Naruto lately?"

"Neji, I don't think those are standard questions."

"I didn't think so either, but I gave him vague answers. I tried to leave the impression that I still believed you had been abducted."

"This isn't good." Her stomach fluttered in the way that signaled vomit would be imminent.

"I know. If anyone can figure out your deception, it would be him. This was a recent promotion I believe. Let the rookie try to solve the cold case kind of thing. Don't worry, I'll keep tabs on him as best I can."

"Alright," Hinata answered automatically, voice hollow.

The life that she had carefully built for herself might be coming to a close. Her store. Her livelihood. She would be on the run again. Kakashi. Hinata felt a stone sink to the bottom of her stomach. Just when things were looking up.

"Hinata, promise me you won't run yet?" Neji asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "We don't know anything for sure yet."

Something in his voice made her pause the premature mental preparations of fleeing to a new life.

"Okay," she sighed, breathing deep just like the therapist had shown her, trying to calm the fight or flight instinct. "Okay, I won't."

"Just stay put and wait for more information. This could be nothing."

They exchanged goodbyes.

Hinata glanced at the clock.

Well any chance of furthering sleep was gone. She threw the phone back in her purse and went to go make a cup of hot cocoa.

Big, hot tears make tracks in her cheeks.

If she ran, Naruto was winning. This was her life. She had been stupid for even a moment to think of letting him win, letting him chase her away.


End file.
